Here For You
by lexziecupcakes007
Summary: Set after the finale. Alex and Izzie's thoughts on life, love, and eachother after Denny's death.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: This is my first GA fic, so please be nice. Ilove Alex and Izzie, and this is what i want to happen after the finale.

Alex kept his eyes trained on her back as she made her way down the stairs, and through the front door of the hospital. He wanted to reach out and embrace. Tell her everything was alright, that he was there. He wanted to be the knight in shining armor. He wanted to be the one she was crying over.

But he wasn't. She loved Denny. He had known all along, but it really hit him when he walked into the hospital room and saw her on his bed, holding Denny's dead body. He vowed right then and there that he would be the one to be there for her. For once, he would say the right things, the things that helped her, instead of just causing her pain.

And in that same instant, he realized how much he loved her. He had never really cared for a woman, except his mom and his sister. He was scared he would turn into his father, hurting everyone he loved. And when he had slept with Olivia, that's exactly what he'd done. Maybe he hadn't laid a hand on Izzie, but he'd lost her trust.

But now he was ready to win it back.

"Come on Iz. Let's get you home." he reached out and grabbed her hand. She didn't resist, but when he squeezed her hand, he got no response. Her hand was cold and lifeless, much like Alex assumed the rest of her felt.

"Come on, O'Malley. We'll take my car. You drive." He tossed George the keys, then slowly opened the door to the back seat and laid Izzie down gently and crawled in next to her.

He held her, just as he had back in Denny's room. He felt her bury her face in his neck, and had the urge to whisper that he loved her into her ear right then.

No, he thought. Not yet. I need to help her heal first. And regain her trust. When I tell her, I want her to know that I mean it.

Alex sighed, and planted a soft, tender kiss on the gorgeous blonde locks of his fallen princess.

REVIEW! Should I continue or leave it as this?


	2. Chapter 2

Izzie felt strong arms lift her up and into the cold night air.

"Denny," she whispered, hoping the events of a few hours ago had just been a dream.

"No, Iz, it's me. Denny's dead Izzie. I'm sorry. I know it's hard. But you're not dreaming, he's not coming back."

Alex. Now she remembered. He had held her as she cried. When no one else knew what to do with her, Alex had showed up. And she was glad. As mad as she was at him, she needed him right now. He knew her. She was no longer a surgeon. But if she wanted to be a person again, she might actually need his help.

"Izzie, where are your pajamas. We need to get you out of that dress."

She looked up, surprised. They were standing in her room. Alex slowly lowered her on to the quilit covering her bed.

"Wait, Alex don't! Come back! You can't leave! I'm all alone, please don't leave!"

She felt the panic rising in her chest. She couldn't be alone. The minute she was left with her thoughts, things would become all too clear.

"Shhh, Iz. I'm right here. I won't leave. I promise." She felt his hand gently rub her back, reaching out to tuck a piece of her hair behind her ear. Alex slowly unzipped her dress and pulled it off, slipping a tanktop over her head and a pair of flannel pants onto her legs.

Izzie was vaguely aware of the fact that she was letting Alex undress her; that he was looking at her naked body and not taking advantage of her. A faint smile crossed her lips. Hmmm, she thought, maybe he has changed. Just a little. Not that I care. I still love Denny...right?

As she began to ponder this small sliver of doubt that had just been aroused in her mind, she felt the quilt being pulled over her, and a warm body crawling into the spot next to her on her bed.

"Don't worry, Izzie. I'm just going to hold you, ok? I'm here."

She had never seen him like this. He looked almost caring, and she wouldn't have believed it was the same Alex Karev, save the handsome face and the hard six-pack she could feel beneath her palm. And there was a hint of sadness in his gaze. Was it possible that he really cared for her? That he was sorry? Then why didn't he say it?

The tears began to fall from her eyes as she realized for the third time that night that Denny was rally gone. She felt Alex's grip around her waist tighten just a little, and she buried her face into her chest.

"Shhh Izzie. It's going to be ok. I'm here for you. You're going to be ok."

And right then, with him holding her, and her feeling completely safe and protected, she felt for the first time since Denny's heart stopped that everything might be ok after all.


	3. Chapter 3

Alex slowly woke up brushing the sleep from his eyes. He sat up slowly, careful not to wake Izzie as he looked at the clock. 9:30. He couldn't remember the last time he'd slept in 'til 9:30. He planted a soft kiss on Izzie's forehead, then slipped out the door of her room and down the stairs.

"You want pizza. It's either that or you cook, because Izzie's the only one who can make anything even remotely edible," said Meredith, her head peeking out from behind the fridge.

"Damn Mer, you look like ! What, did McDre-I mean Derek die too?"

"No, I slept with him. At the prom. When my boyfriend and his wife were in the same building."

"Nice one. See, I told you, inappropriate men. But couldn't you have been a little more creative than prom!" Alex smirked. Izzie might be totally broken right now, but he could still joke around with Meredith.

"Life sucks. Men suck!" Meredith said emphatically as she sat down with her cold pizza.

"Hey that's my gender you're talking about!"

"Oh, right, sorry. So, how's Izzie?"

A look of pain flashed across Alex's face. "I don't know. She's pretty torn up right now. I guess she really did love him." "Lucky guy," he added under his breath.

"You love her, don't you? Alex Karev's in love? Wow, that's even weirder than me being in love. That's even weirder than _Cristina_ being in love!"

"I don't love her. I'm over her. She was just good in the sack, that's it."

"Uh huh, right. You gonna stick with that story?" asked Mer, looking quizzically at him.

"So, you're still in love with McDreamy, i mean Derek damn! Or is it McVet that's got your heart and won't let go?"

"Shut up Alex. Don't play whose life sucks the most with me. I'll win. We're focusing on you right now. And Izzie."

"Yeah, I love her," he said with a sigh. "I knew it from the day I met her. I always thought all that love at first glance stuff was BS, but then I met Iz, and everything changed. She's special. I realize I was an , and a cheater, and that she doesn't feel the same way about me, but God, I love her so much. I never meant to hurt her; I just didn't know what else to do. I knew I was falling for her and I wanted it to stop. Who knows why? Now all I want is her back. But of course I can't have that because she's mourning the loss of her dead fiancée. He actually proposed to her! Can you believe that? And she said yes! Seriously!

And I'm trying to be supportive, but it's hard because I love her so much, and all I want to do when I'm around her is grab her, and kiss her and tell her I love her, and that I want to marry her, and I'm not a corpse, but I can't. Because I lost my chance. And now I mean nothing to her. At least when she was mad, I knew she still cared."

"Wow," Mer smiled at him. "You do have a heart after all."

Alex just bowed his head and headed towards the front door. There was nothing more he could do.

"Alex, wait." He paused and turned as Meredith called out his name.

"She needs you. Maybe she can't love you right now, but she needs someone to be there for her. And you have a lot of ground to make up with her. This is a good place to start. So go up there and hold her like you did last night. Let her know that it's okay, that someone in the world still cares about her. Let her know that you still care about her."

"She needs time Alex. But she'll get over Denny. Hopefully she'll get over the whole not being a surgeon thing too, but who knows. But when she's over Denny, and it's the right time, you better tell her what you just told me, about how you feel about her. Because if you don't say it, she'll never know."

"Yeah, okay. Thanks Mer." Alex turned around and walked up the stairs, back to Izzie, knowing he would be there for her for as long as she needed. And if he was lucky, maybe even for the rest of her life.


	4. Chapter 4

Ok totally forgot to do this before so here it is:

I (unfortunately) don't own Grey's Anatomy. I wish I was as talented as Shonda Rhimes, but I'm just not. So as much as I'd love Alex to be mine, he and everyone else belong to Shonda.

STORY TIME!

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Two weeks later

Izzie yawns and sits up slowly, trying to delay reality for as long as possible. But just like every morning for the last week, she realized that everything wrong with her life wasn't just a bad dream.

Denny was really dead. He wasn't coming back. She would never seem him again.

And worse, she had cut the L-VAD wires, and was responsible for Denny's dying. And she'd quit her job.

She'd told the Chief that she wasn't a surgeon. And at that point, maybe she wasn't. But now she was ready to go back to being an intern.

She didn't get the same rush from surgery that her fellow interns did. Izzie wanted to save people. She loved knowing that someone was alive because of her.

Which was ironic, since she'd just killed a man she thought she was in love with.

The only thing that had kept Izzie going thorough the past two weeks were her friends. George and Meredith had both taken a couple days off to be with her, and make sure she was ok. Cristina had stopped by once or twice, which meant a lot coming from Cristina.

Bu the person who'd been there the most for her was Alex. He'd practically moved in to Meredith's house, spending most nights either on the recliner in her room or the couch downstairs. He'd started sleeping at home again when Meredith threatened to start charging him rent, but still spent most of his free time with Izzie.

But now they were all back at Seattle Grace, and the house was quiet. Izzie pulled on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, and then headed down to the kitchen of the empty house.

Izzie sighed as she turned the corner into the kitchen. Every available surface was covered with baked goods. There were muffins and cupcakes lining the counters, along with the occasional cake. The table was covered with cookies of every kind, in every shape she could think of.

There was a note attached to the refrigerator.

_Iz-_

_I know that you bake when you have issues, and I'm not saying there's anything wrong with that, at least you don't get drunk and sleep with inappropriate men, but Gerorge found a muffin in his shoe this morning, and that kind of worries me. Don't do anything stupid. Page me if you need me._

_-Mer_

Whoops, Izzie thought, I thought that was a bowl, not a shoe.

She walked to the cupboard, pulling out the bags of flour and sugar that were almost out. She pulled a cookbook down from the shelf and slowly started flipping through the pages, trying to find something to make.

Just as she was deciding whether to make yet another batch of chocolate cupcakes or to run to the store to get the ingredients for crème brulee, including a blow torch, which sounded pretty exciting, she heard the front door open.

Alex rounded the corner and stepped into the kitchen, knowing that's exactly where he'd find Izzie.

"You're baking again?"

"You're off early."

They smiled at each other for a moment. They'd gotten to know each other over the last few weeks, and it was nice to smile at Alex, and have him smile at her, without thinking he was going to jump her bones at any second.

"Yeah, eighty-hour work limit," Alex said, answering her question.

"I thought everyone was ignoring that?"

"They are, but I'm still on the vagina squad with She-Shephard, and I'm not sticking around there any longer than I have to!" he said with a smirk. "Plus, Meredith told we you put a cupcake in O'Malley's shoe. I thought it was pretty funny, but she seemed worried, so I thought I'd come check on you."

"It was a muffin, and it was late at night, and I wasn't thinking," Izzie replied, laughing. It felt good to laugh. She hadn't laughed since the night of the prom. She'd missed it.

And he'd missed her laugh. "Well, it could have been because you have enough food to feed all the starving children in Africa here. Not that it would be very nutritious. It was either O'Malley's shoe or the floor. Although really, Iz, not sure you made the right choice. His feet stink!"

She smiled again, her whole face lighting up. "I know. I just like to bake. I don't want to eat any of it, though, so it just sits here. You can have some if you want."

"I'm only eating this if you are. How about this: We'll each take half of the cupcakes. Whoever finishes first wins. Loser has to figure out something to do with the rest of the cupcakes."

"There must be a hundred cupcakes here! I couldn't eat fifty cupcakes. I'd be the size of a whale!"

"Oh, well if Dr. Model's too worried about her figure…"

"Fine, I'll do it, but _don't _call me Dr. Model!"

Two hours and fifty-two muffins later, Izzie, slammed her fist against the table.

"Done!" she cried triumphantly, looking over at Alex trying to shove his second-to-last cupcake into his mouth. "I'm sure the hungry children in Africa will appreciate your donation. But you're gonna need a hell of a lot of boxes!"

"Fine. You win. Come here, you have chocolate on your cheek."

Izzie walked toward him, and as he reached up to wipe the chocolate off of her cheek, he finally gave in to what he'd wanted to do for so long.

Alex tenderly held her face in his hands, and kissed her.

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AN: Ok, I'm not sure I like this chapter or not. I didn't mean for the kiss to come this early, but it just sort of happened.

Anyway, review and tell me what you think!


	5. Chapter 5

Thanks for all the awesome reviews! They make me write faster! wink wink

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_Alex tenderly held her face in his hands, and kissed her._

It felt so right, holding her, feeling her soft lips against his. This was all he wanted.

Alex was jerked back to the harsh reality of the situation when Izzie quickly pulled away from his grasp. He looked up to see tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Alex, I can't. Not now, maybe not ever. You've been great through all of this, and I thank you for that, but I just can't do this, especially with you. You hurt me. And when I was with Denny, I didn't hurt as much. And now Denny's gone too, and I hurt more than ever. I'm not ready to get hurt again. I don't deserve that." Izzie collapsed into a chair, her tearstained face looking down at the floor.

"Izzie, I'm sorry. I know I didn't say it before, but I am. You're right, you don't deserve to be hurt. And knowing that I've contributed to your pain, geez, Iz, it fcking sucks! All I want is to go back, and take back every awful thing I ever did that hurt you!"

There are tears in Alex's eyes too, and they began to fall as he takes a shaky breath and continues.

"I love you, Izzie. I never thought I would ever feel that way about someone, much less say it, but I can't help it. I slept with Olivia because there were no strings attached, not like you. You would've wanted to talk about it, to have a real relationship, and I wasn't ready for that."

"I'm Alex Karev, who could go out and get any woman he wants, get laid, do a couple of kick-ass operations, then do it all over again the next day. Hell, I probably slept with about half of the nursing staff in the first three months of our internship!"

"But the only girl that counts, the only girl that ever counted, is you. Because when I'm around you I want to be a good person. I want you to be proud of me. I want to impress you, and be the one to make you smile, to make you laugh. I want you to be the one I sleep with every night, and I'm not just talking about the sex, though it is amazing."

"I want to spend the rest of my life with you. But I realize it's too soon. You just lost Denny, and you don't want to feel like that again right now. So I'm sorry I kissed you. I didn't mean to, not now. I wanted to wait until you were over Denny, and you trusted me again. And now once again I've fcked everything up!"

"I'm sorry Izzie. I promise I'll shut up in one second. But I want you to know that I'll do anything you want. It scares the shit out of me that I'm telling you this, because I know I'm going to get hurt. But I'm here for you. If you need someone to talk to, I'm a phone call away. If you need a shoulder to cry on, I'll be here as fast as I can. If you need really good sex, you know I can do something about that."

"If you just want to beat the crap out of someone, I'm your guy. And don't worry about scarring my perfect face. I'll just get a little practice with my suturing skills. It totally turns Yang on. I'm leaving now, Iz, but as soon as you tell me to, I'll come back. Because I can't live without you."

Izzie kept her eyes trained on the floor as Alex turned and walked out the front door. She didn't know what to do. He had just laid his heart on the line for her, and she knew she still had feelings for him. But feelings weren't enough. She needed safety, and peace.

As the silent tears fell down her cheeks, she thought of everything Alex meant to her, both good and bad. She didn't know what to do. It was just another problem to add to her growing list.

Izzie looked slowly around the kitchen, and started pulling out the ingredients for chocolate cupcakes. She put her nose up to the bottle of coconut extract, and as the scent filled her nose, she felt a sudden sense of calm. No matter what happened, she'd make it through.

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I'm not sure if this chapter (or even this story) is in character for Alex or Izzie. I'm trying my hardest, but sometimes I'm writing what I want their personalities to be like, not how the actually are. Suggestions and constructive critiscm are appreciated!

REVIEW! You know you want to!


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: Not mine. Got it? Olay, moving on…**

"Izzie, c'mon, you've got to get out of this house. It's been three weeks since Denny, you, he, um, er, Meredith says to get your ass out of this house and meet her at Joe's."

Izzie couldn't help but smile at George. So many things had changed in the past two weeks, but not George. He was still her awkward, lovable best friend, and that's what she loved about him.

Of course, now Callie was in the picture. Callie, who apparently got extreme pleasure from cracking people's bones. She would have to talk to George about that. But not now. Right now she was going to Joe's to meet Meredith. It really was time she got out of the house.

Izzie walked into Joe's, smiling at the familiarity of it. There were so many good memories there, things that she could think about without crying. Drinking with Meredith, talking with George, overhearing nurses spread all kinds of gossip.

Kissing Alex.

No, she thought. She had vowed not to think about that. She was trying as hard as she could no to see him, or even think about him, until she figured out what she was going to do with her life. But he always seemed to creep into her thoughts when she least suspected it, like now.

She tried to shake all thoughts of Alex from her head as she walked over to the bar, where Meredith was chatting amicably with Joe.

"Hey Mer. Hey Joe." She smiled at both of them.

"Izzie, how've you been. We miss you around here. You aren't quite as good a customer as Dr. Grey here, but I miss seeing that smile." She grinned at Joe.

"Yeah, well, you've heard from everyone I'm sure, because drunk people are honest, and you have a lot of drunk doctors in here. But not Mer. She's knitting, you know." She winked at Joe, and they both laughed.

"Shut up Izzie!" Meredith scowled and turned back to what was presumably a scarf, but could have easily passed for a bunch of tangled fishing line.

"So are you really knitting, Mer, or is that just what your boyfriend thinks?" Izzie had heard all about the latest installment of the McDreamy saga from Alex, back before the kiss.

"I'm knitting! And he's not my boyfriend anymore, but I'm still knitting. It's very therapeutic!"

This was why Izzie liked talking with Meredith so much. Her life was almost as screwed up as Izzie's, and a lot more confusing. Yet she still pretended she was knitting. IT was nice to think about someone else's problems for a change.

"Plus, you can't talk to me about knitting. Why has Alex been skulking around the hospital all week. He's back to being Dr. Evil Spawn again, and I haven't seen him around the house all week."

"Why would I have anything to do with Alex's issues? I'm still mourning the loss of my fiancée."

"Of course you are, Iz, and I'm totally over Derek. You didn't love Denny, but I don't think you can say the same for Alex. And I don't know if he told you or not, but he cares a hell of a lot about you."

"He told me," Izzie sighed. "Or rather he kissed me, and then professed his undying love for me."

"And…" Meredith prompted.

"And then he left."

"You let him leave!"

"What was I supposed to do, tell him I'm madly in love with him and can't live without him and have forgiven him for all the awful things he did to me. I've already been hurt by him, Mer, and I just lost my fiancée, who I thought I loved and was going to spend the rest of my life with. So yes, I let him leave." One lone tear trickled down Izzie's cheek, and she choked back a sob.

"Iz, I know you need time. And that's okay. But if you love him, don't take too much time. He's not going to wait forever. Sooner or later he'll get fed up with waiting, and then both of you will be unhappy. Believe me, Iz. I know. You don't want to end up like me, a slutty mistress. Not that I think Alex is hiding any wives. But don't wait too long Izzie. You'll regret it."

With that Meredith got up and walked out of the bar, her "scarf" trailing behind her. Izzie sighed.

Why was it that Meredith had to be so right?

**Ok, first of all, sorry this chapter took so long. I have no excuse except a really bad case of writer's block. I'll try to do better.**

**This chapter was mainly a filler, but I needed someone to knock some sense into Izzie, and Meredith seemed like the one to do it. I'm not sure if I like this chapter, but tell me what you think. Reviews make me write faster!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: Not mine. All Shonda's. Clearly I'm not as talented as her. But I try.**

Izzie sat at Joe's, sipping the water Joe had given her, and thought about what Meredith had said. She did love Alex, that was becoming clearer to her every minute. And she wanted to trust him. But she couldn't get hurt again.

She decided that her only option was to talk to him, and to tell him how she felt. He had laid his heart on the line for her, the least she could do was to be honest with him about how she felt.

Just then, the bell above the door chimed, and Izzie turned around to see a familiar figure walk through the door and make his way to a back booth.

Is the universe trying to tell me something, or do I just have really weird luck, she thought. Well, if it was trying to tell her something, she'd better listen. She took one more sip of water, wishing it were something stronger, then made her way over to the booth where he was sitting.

"Hey."

He looked up, surprised. He'd been so lost in thought, he hadn't noticed her walk up to his table.

"Hey," he replied, and he couldn't help but smile a bit, just from seeing her and hearing her voice.

She stood there awkwardly, and he just stared at her for a moment, taking her all in. He couldn't believe this was the same women who he'd posted model pictures of around the hospital. God, he'd been an ass. No wonder she refused to let him in. But she was here now.

"Um, do you want to sit down?" Alex asked, gesturing to the seat across from him.

"Sure." Izzie slid into the bench, resting one elbow on the table and running her other hand through her hair.

Finally she looked up into his eyes. "We need to talk. I need to talk."

"Izzie, you don't have to. What I said last week in the kitchen, it was-"

"It was honest. And thank you for that. Now I need to be honest with you."

She took a deep breath and continued. "I thought I loved Denny, I really did. HE made me happy, and I really needed to be happy, Alex. But I wasn't in love with him, just with the idea of him, and the idea of love."

"But that doesn't mean that his death didn't affect me, because it did. I honestly thought I was going to marry him. I thought we had all the time in the world. And then he died. Denny taught me that nothing is a given, nothing can be taken for granted. And none of us have as much time as we think."

"I don't want to waste any more of my time being miserable, Alex. I want to be happy. And I think you can make me happy. I know I care about you, and my feelings for you never went away. But I can't get hurt again. And you have a pretty long history of hurting me."

Izzie could feel the tears threatening to fall, but blinked them away. She had to get this out without breaking down.

"You're trying to change. I know that. After Denny died, you were so nice to me, I could feel how much you cared. So I'm willing to give us another chance. But we have to take it slow. Really slow. And until I know I can trust you again, you're definitely not getting in my pants!"

Izzie started laughing at her last comment, suddenly self-conscious. She looked up to see why Alex wasn't laughing with her.

His face was unreadable, save for one tear running down the side of his cheek. Izzie reached up and tenderly wiped it away. He lifted his to meet her's, and she smiled at him softly.

"Slow sounds good," he said finally, in a voice so unlike his usual loud, cocky tone that Izzie almost didn't hear him.

"Good," Izzie said, and then leaned across the table kissed him. Unlike most of their kisses, which were fiery and hot, this one was soft and sweet.

A new beginning.

**I don't have much to say except that this chapter makes me happy. Let me know what you think. **


	8. Chapter 8

"So, Alex, Izzie seems to be doing better lately. You wouldn't have to be contributing to that in any way, would you?" Meredith asked as she and Alex walked out of the interns' locker room.

"Hmmmm, maybe. Why, has she said anything about me?"

"Hmmmm, maybe." She smirked at him.

"Seriously, Meredith. Has she mentioned anything about us to you?" Alex hoped that she had. He didn't want Izzie to be ashamed of their relationship, or whatever it was that they had.

"Oh, so there's an 'us' huh?"

"Yes. I don't know. Maybe. Dammit, why does this have to be so confusing?"

"Welcome to the world of love. It ain't all it's chalked up to be," Meredith said, smiling wryly. "Believe me, I'm the expert on the downsides of love."

Alex sighed. Maybe this was why he had avoided love for so long. He felt completely out of control. He hated not knowing what Izzie thought of him, and wondering if she cared as much as he did.

"Speaking of, I get to be with Shephard today. The male one."

"Oh, well I Have his Mrs. How long does Bailey plan on torturing me for?"

"Probably the rest of your internship. Then she'll find other ways to make your life miserable. But hey, at least you're not with you're married boss, who you happen to have slept with less than a month ago, while his wife and your boyfriend were less than 200 yards away."

"Yeah, good luck with that Mer. Try to fit in a few brain surgeries in between you wild romps in the on call room."

"Shut up, Alex. You can't talk. At least I've only screwed one guy in an on call room. That's more than you can say."

Alex looked downward, not meeting Meredith's gaze, and ran a hand over his face. As much as he tried, he was never going to live down his mistakes.

"Hey, sorry. Just don't hurt her again," Meredith said apologetically.

Alex nodded as he walked down the hall toward OB.

"Oh, and Alex. Izzie says to stop by the house tonight, and to wear something nice," Meredith said, as she walked backwards toward the elevators.

Alex's face broke out into a huge grin.

As soon as his shift got over, Alex rushed home to his apartment, changed into khakis and a nice shirt, and drove over to Meredith's house.

He took a deep breath, composing himself before he rang the doorbell. He and Izzie had never been good at the dating thing. Flirting, they could do, fighting, they had that down to an art, and the sex was, well, mind blowing. But dating. It had never been Alex's forte.

He finally got up the courage to ring the bell. Seconds after he heard the bell chime, George was standing in the open doorway staring at him.

"Okay, listen Karev, if you're going out with Izzie, we need to talk," George said, in a feeble attempt to sound intimidating. Alex leaned nonchalantly against the doorframe with an amused smirk on his face.

"No hurting her. Just because she's decided to take you back doesn't mean you can start screwing nurses again. And if you do, I'll - well I'll…um, er, you know, I'll-"

"He'll kick you ass." The voice traveled from the top of the stairs, and Alex looked up just as its owner came into view.

"Wow, Iz, you look…wow." Alex was at a loss for words looking at the beautiful woman standing in front of him. She had on a turquoise halter dress with a low cut neck, that fit her curves perfectly. Black strappy sandals that she'd borrowed from Meredith and silver hoop earrings completed the outfit.

"Good, Meredith told you. Let's go." She grabbed Alex's hand and pulled him through the still open door.

"So, Dr. Model, where exactly are we going on this so-called date?"

"It's a surprise."

Want to know where they're going? I know. haha. No, seriously, review, and maybe I'll be nice and update quick! Tell me what you think. And I actually have a plan for where this is going. That's good, right?


	9. Chapter 9

**I. Don't. Own. Grey's. Anatomy. Got it? Okay, good.

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**

"Seriously, Izzie, tell me you're kidding."

"I'm not kidding Alex. This is where we're having dinner, and you are going to go in there and smile, and make pleasant conversation, and have a nice dinner, because you owe me that."

He sighed. He couldn't exactly say no to that. Regardless of everything, he still had a lot of ground to make up where Izzie was concerned.

"Okay, Dr. Model, let's get this over with."

Izzie rolled her eyes. She knew that he wasn't as opposed to the idea of dinner at Seattle's famous Space Needle as he'd like her to believe. She'd seen the small smile as he'd pulled up at the base of the tower, and saw his true happiness in his eyes. Although that could have something to do with what she was wearing.

* * *

"You know, I've lived in Washington my whole life, and have never been up here before," Izzie remarked.

"Yeah, well, we didn't exactly have a lot of strangely shaped, pointless towers in Iowa. Lots of crop circles though. My friend and I tried to make one once. Farmer wasn't too happy. Especially when he figured out it was shaped like a, well, you know, we were 17. I'll leave it up to your imagination."

"Oh c'mon Alex, you're a doctor. You know your anatomy. You made a crop circle shaped like a breast. Great idea. Very mature. Glad to see you've grown up a lot since then."

"You ready to go." Alex's voice broke through her thoughts.

"Oh, I was kind of hoping for dessert. But we can go, if you want."

They both laughed, and Izzie smiled to herself. This was nice. She never would have guessed that this was the same Alex Karev who'd wallpapered the hospital with pictures of her in lingerie. This new Alex, her Alex, was funny and smart and polite, while still managing to be his cocky and arrogant self.

"Oh no, don't worry. I won't forget about your sweet tooth darling. It just can't be properly satisfied here," Alex said with a wink.

"God, is that all you think about! I was talking about real dessert, the kind you eat."

"So was I doll face. Have a little faith."

* * *

"It's good, isn't it?" Alex said, nodding toward the ice cream cone in Izzie's hand.

"Seriously! It's like an orgasm in a cone!"

Alex merely raised his eyebrows.

"Okay, maybe not quite that good. But seriously, how'd you find this place?"

"I have my ways," Alex said a smile playing across his lips. "Actually, I've known about it for awhile. Joe told me about it. I was just waiting to go 'til I find a girl as good as the ice cream."

Izzie rolled her eyes and blushed. "Who knew you were so corny?" she said, smiling at him.

Alex looped one arm around her waist, pulling her closer to him and kissing the top of her head. "Only the ones I love get to see the softer side of me. Everyone else just has to deal with my bad boy side."

Izzie laughed, looking up into his eyes. "So you love me?"

"I thought we've already been over this."

"I know, but I like hearing you say it." She pouted slightly at him, and gave him her best puppy dog eyes, knowing he couldn't resist.

"Fine. I love you. I love you more than there are stars in the sky or fishes in the sea. (AN: this is from somewhere, I'm not sure where though.) I love your smile and your laugh. I love that look you get on your face during a surgery, when you're totally in the zone. I love that you're giving me a second chance. I love _you._ Happy now?"

"Very." With that she pulled his face down to hers, with a smile still spreading across her face. She felt a surge of passion rush through her body, as she did every time his lips touched hers. She pulled him closer, feeling his hard stomach press against hers, his hand tangled in her hair, his tongue darting lightly across her neck.

Izzie tried to pull away from the kiss, feeling both of their passion rising, but Alex wouldn't let her.

"Alex, c'mon, people are starting to stare."

"Let them stare," Alex whispered, his tongue trailing ever so slightly against the edge of her ear.

In that moment, she loved him more than she ever though possible. She wanted to be with him, to show him how much she loved him. But in front of an ice cream parlor didn't seem like the best place to give in to her sexual desires.

"If I remember correctly, your apartment is pretty close to here. Should we take this someplace a little more…private?"

Alex suddenly pulled back looking into Izzie's eyes. "You mean…" Izzie nodded.

"What happened to slow?"

"We did slow. And now, we're done with slow. I haven't had sex in three months, and you say you love me, and I love you, so slow is over. Unless of course you don't want to have sex with me, in which case-"

"No! As long as you're okay, I'm fine. I'm always fine! Better than fine actually!"

"Okay then, Mr. Better-Than-Fine, let's go!"

**

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**

**Okay, that's as much as you get. I really can't write sex scenes, so I'll just leave that up to all of your very active imaginations. (Seriously, just think about Justin Chambers naked. Or maybe with just that really cute hat he was wearing in the premiere on. He looked really hot). **

**Anyway, this was my longest chapter yet. I'm trying to make them longer, because I know how annoying short chapters are, but it's hard. Reviews really do motivate me to write more, so please review and tell me what you think! Thanks for reading!**

**BTW, I'm really excited for next chapter. And you should be too.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I don't own Grey's Anatomy.

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**

It had been two months since Izzie and Alex's date at the Space Needle, and things had been going well between them. Izzie was driving herself crazy at home, though, so she asked the Chief if there was any way she could get her job back. He said that she could no longer be a surgical resident, but Addison Shephard has suggested that she switch her internship to neonatal. She was happy to accept, glad to have a job at the hospital again, where all her friends were.

She passed Meredith on her way out of the hospital.

"Hey Iz, how'd it go with the Chief?" Meredith inquired, worried about her friend's fate as a doctor.

"Well, he says I can't be a surgical intern anymore, but that I can work with Addison in neonatal."

"Oh," Meredith grunted, and obvious look of disgust on her face.

"I'm sorry, Mer. I know she's Satan or whatever, but I really need a job, and I'm interested in her specialty," Izzie replied, hoping her friend would understand.

"No, it's okay, just prepare for it to get ugly. Derek said he was going to tell Addison it's over tonight, so…"

"But that's good, right? Now you can have your McDreamy back?"

"You're forgetting about McVet."

"Oh yeah."

"Yeah."

"What are you going to do?"

"I dunno."

"Okay. Hey, have you seen Alex. He's been kind of distant all weekend, and he won't talk to me about it."

"Well, he called in sick today. Maybe that's it."

"Oh, okay, thanks Mer. Maybe I'll go and check on him. Make sure he stays in bed, make him some chicken soup. Bye Mer." Izzie strode out of the lobby and headed to her car and Alex's apartment.

* * *

Five minutes later she was knocking on his door. He wasn't answering, and she was about to leave, figuring he was sleeping and she shouldn't wake him up, when the door swung open, revealing a scantily clad 20-something in the doorway.

"Um, is Alex here?" Izzie asked, a slight edge in her voice. She didn't like the fact that there was a girl in Alex's apartment, especially one dressed in a short pink miniskirt and a white halter top, but decided to give Alex the benefit of the doubt.

"He's in the shower," the girl said, leaning against the door frame nonchalantly.

"And you are?" Now Izzie was getting mad. What was this chick doing in her boyfriend's apartment while he was in the shower?

"I'm Ashley. And you're Izzie. Izzie Stevens. You work at Seattle Grace with Alex. Grew up in a trailer park. Fell in 'love' with a heart patient a few months ago. Broke Alex's heart."

"Um, how exactly do you know Alex?"

As Ashley was about to answer Alex's voice cam from behind the closed bathroom door.

"Ashley, why are you answering my door? I told you-"

Alex opened the door to the bathroom, hair still wet and with just a towel around his waist. He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw who was at the door.

"Izzie."

"Alex. I was just getting to know your _friend_ here," Izzie replied sarcastically, the anger and disgust clear in her voice.

"Iz, it's not what it looks like. Ashley's, um, well, see, she's my uh…Ash, do you think you could give us a second?"

Ashley turned to him, horrified. "Wait, she doesn't know who I am, does she? She doesn't know what happened?" Ashley was looking straight at Alex, her eyes seemingly trying to pull the truth out of him.

"God, you rant on and on about how much you love her, and how you want to share everything with her, but you don't tell her that your mother died!" Ashley had tears streaming down her face, and her voice broke as she uttered the last sentence. She looked ready to punch Alex, but instead she turned to Izzie.

"I'm Ashley Karev. Alex's sister. Sorry I was such an ass to you. Guess it runs in the family." With that, she ran out of the room, and the guest room door slammed shut a few seconds later.

Alex was silent, torn between staying to talk to Izzie and going to check on his sister. After a moment, Izzie broke the silence.

"When did this happen?"

"Friday. Ashley came out here after the funeral."

"You didn't go to your own mother's funeral?" Izzie couldn't believe what she was hearing. No wonder he had been distant all weekend. She couldn't imagine what she would be like if her mother died. But she knew she'd want to be there to say her final goodbyes.

"Whatever. I've got to go talk to Ashley. I'll call you…later, okay?"

"Wait, Alex, do you want to talk about this?" She was worried about him. This wasn't healthy.

"I'm fine. Ashley's not though, so I've got to go deal with her. I'll see you later, Izzie." And with that, the door was slammed shut in Izzie's face.

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**Okay, I have to be honest, I love this chapter. I've known I wanted to write about Alex's sister for awhile, but I didn't think it would come up in this fic. We'll see where it goes.**

**Please review. More reviewsmore updates.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Ok, so it's been a long time since I updated. I actually had to go back and read my last chapter to remember what was going on. Not so good. I'll try to be better about updates, but with school and everything else, I can't promise anything.**

**Oh, and btw, I don't own Grey's. If I did, there would be way more lexzie action than there has been this season. But judging from the previews, it's looking up.**

"Ashley," Alex called, walking cautiously into the guest bedroom, where his sister was lying on the bed, facing the wall.

"Go away."

"I'm not going anywhere, Ash. I know you're mad at me. I know you don't get why I didn't go to the funeral, why I'm not moping around crying. Dammit, if I knew I'd tell you." There was no response from the silent form on the bed.

"I was happy. I'd finally gotten my life figured out. I had friends, I had the girl of my dreams, I was in one of the best surgical intern programs in the country. And then I get a phone call, and that whole world comes crashing down, and suddenly the past that I tried so hard to forget is right back staring me in the face."

Slowly, Ashley rolled over to face Alex.

"That's just it. You ran away from your past, your family. You got to forget what it was like to hear your mom cry every night. You didn't have to live with the memories of your abusive father all around you. But I did."

"Ash," Alex said, a look of anguish on his face.

"No. You just shut up. I didn't get to run away. I worked three jobs to support Mom and me. And that was fine. Because my big brother was off being a surgeon, saving people's lives. But you couldn't save Mom's. You couldn't even be bothered to come back when she had cancer. She was dying, and all she wanted was to see you. What kind of son can't grant his mother's dying wish?"

"A son who's just like his father."

"Alex, no that's not what I meant."

"No, Ash, it's okay. It's true. I'm an ass. I have one hell of a temper, and have a pretty good track record when it comes to hurting people I love. I'd say that makes me pretty much the spitting image of our jackass of a Dad. I'm sorry, Ashley."

"Alex, no, don't say that. You're not Dad. You're nothing like him."

"Yeah, and how do you know? How do you know that I'm not going to turn out exactly like him?" Alex was staring at the opposite wall, toying with the fringe on the bedspread.

"Because of what you just said. Dad would never have admitted that he loved us. He did, at least I think he did. But he didn't know how to show it, so instead he drank. But you don't do that Alex. You spent my whole childhood protecting me and mom from him. If it wasn't for you, he might have kept it up until he killed Mom. And I could see it when you looked at Izzie. You care about her, Alex. You would never let anything or anyone hurt her. Dad never loved anyone the way you love Izzie."

Alex just nodded, the tears now running freely down his face.

"But you have to let her in. You have to tell he what's going on with you, how you're feeling. Otherwise, how do you expect her to understand?"

"Well this is just perfect. I'm getting relationship advise from my younger sister. And it's decent advise, too. Don't you dare tell anyone about this."

"Whatever you say Alex. Just one more piece of advise."

"Yeah?"

"Go get your girl."

**Okay, so no Alex/Izzie. But do you like Ashley more? Okay, well I do. She's like a mini Alex. Except a girl. And she told him what he needed to hear about Izzie.**

**So please review. Even if it's just to tell me that this is awful. Because then at least I know you're reading. So review. I'll try to have a lexzie scene up soon.**


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